I've complained more about the "Western"-style Maverick episode, primarily with Jack Kelly as Bart. "Flood's Folly" with Moore as Beau is like those. And seems like Beau was slapped into a "Bart episode". Except the episode is even more a Bart episode than the Western-style Bart episodes.
For one thing, there's no gambling! A Maverick without poker is like... well, a "Have Gun Will Travel" episode. Moore is very Beau-like, sure, but he doesn't get a chance to play poker or otherwise gamble. He just matches wits with a gang of outlaws hiding out in Flood's Folly. Which makes the episode like any other Western of the period with the protagonist matching wits with a gang of fugitives.
Part of it is that Judge John Scott keeps getting referred to as Beau's old friend. I have no idea why. We've never heard of Scott before, and we'll never hear from him again. He and Beau don't seem particularly friendly, and they act more like traveling companions who teamed up to ride through the storm together, rather than "old friends".
The episode also seems very British-like, with an isolated manor-like structure inhabited by a seemingly-insane young girl and her domineering aunt. There are a few eloquent scenes, like when Sally waltzes to an imaginary partner and then Beau, seeing it, joins in. There's some nice use of shadows here. And Michael Pate as Chet Whitehead, the main outlaw, is good as always. As is Alan Baxter as John Scott, when he's acting sinister rather than as Beau's "old friend".
But there's a few too many plots going on here to keep one's attentions. Whitehead and Sally's aunt, Martha, have a past romantic relationship which never feels very realistic. All the main plot elements, like the relationship and Scott's scheming to get a share of Sally's fortune and faking the death of her unseen brother Robert, all take place off-screen and in the past. Which makes for a very uninvolving piece of television.
And without the Maverick style or involvement, "Flood's Folly" just seems like another bottle episode with a small group of people stuck in an isolated location and at each other's throats. The scenes of the snowbound hotel are nice, but it's hard to much up an isolated house with a possibly insane girl (Sally "hears voice", which turns out to be the hiding outlaws) not be atmospheric.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
For one thing, there's no gambling! A Maverick without poker is like... well, a "Have Gun Will Travel" episode. Moore is very Beau-like, sure, but he doesn't get a chance to play poker or otherwise gamble. He just matches wits with a gang of outlaws hiding out in Flood's Folly. Which makes the episode like any other Western of the period with the protagonist matching wits with a gang of fugitives.
Part of it is that Judge John Scott keeps getting referred to as Beau's old friend. I have no idea why. We've never heard of Scott before, and we'll never hear from him again. He and Beau don't seem particularly friendly, and they act more like traveling companions who teamed up to ride through the storm together, rather than "old friends".
The episode also seems very British-like, with an isolated manor-like structure inhabited by a seemingly-insane young girl and her domineering aunt. There are a few eloquent scenes, like when Sally waltzes to an imaginary partner and then Beau, seeing it, joins in. There's some nice use of shadows here. And Michael Pate as Chet Whitehead, the main outlaw, is good as always. As is Alan Baxter as John Scott, when he's acting sinister rather than as Beau's "old friend".
But there's a few too many plots going on here to keep one's attentions. Whitehead and Sally's aunt, Martha, have a past romantic relationship which never feels very realistic. All the main plot elements, like the relationship and Scott's scheming to get a share of Sally's fortune and faking the death of her unseen brother Robert, all take place off-screen and in the past. Which makes for a very uninvolving piece of television.
And without the Maverick style or involvement, "Flood's Folly" just seems like another bottle episode with a small group of people stuck in an isolated location and at each other's throats. The scenes of the snowbound hotel are nice, but it's hard to much up an isolated house with a possibly insane girl (Sally "hears voice", which turns out to be the hiding outlaws) not be atmospheric.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
